Spanish Guards Find Two Migrants in a Car Engine

Spanish border guards discovered two migrants hidden in a car, including in the engine, at a checkpoint at the Spain-Morocco border.

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The driver sparked suspicions when he “appeared agitated at the amount of time it was taking to cross the border.” The guards immediately searched the car and found two migrants from Guinea. One man stuffed himself in the engine while the other was “practically under the vehicle’s back seat.”

Both men received first aid as they suffered “symptoms of fatigue and lack of oxygen.” The officers do not know how long the men inhaled toxic fumes from the car. Neither one carried any papers or identification. A statement said the men are “TD and AB from Guinea Conakry.”

Migrants from Africa often use Ceuta and Melilla, two “Spanish enclaves on the North African coast,” to escape to Europe. A Moroccan man suffocated to death in a suitcase on a five hour ferry ride to Spain after his brother stuffed the suitcase behind the wheel of a car. In early summer, a father smuggled his son in a suitcase to the Canary Islands. He survived, and authorities said he could stay for one year.

Officers arrested 15 people in August when they smuggled Moroccan migrants on jet skis. Each ride can carry two people. Once they arrive, the smugglers abandon the people on popular beaches where the migrants attempt to blend in with the tourists. But if the riders spot the police, they will throw the migrants overboard. Authorities said this is a very dangerous route since the majority of migrants do not know how to swim. Four people recently drowned when they tried to swim around a border fence into Spain.

A boat with 40 migrants, including a small girl and a pregnant woman, landed on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria late Tuesday night. All passengers were in good health.